Autograph score for “A Negro Work Song”

In 1940, Dawson was commissioned by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to compose an orchestral work for the radio program, “American School of the Air.” The Columbia Concert Orchestra broadcasted "A Negro Work Song" on February 20, 1940. As with many of his compositions, Dawson based the orchestral and multi-part composition on a simple folk song melody, that of the song “Stewball” (also known as “Skewball”) (Monroe, 128).